Clearing the boundary is a key aspect of T20 cricket. Some players excel in T20I Sixes hitting, with Chris Gayle being one of the best known for his impressive six-hitting ability.
Here’s a look at the top five single-year records for most sixes
1. Chris Gayle (2016) – 112 Sixes
Chris Gayle
In 2016, Chris Gayle hit 112 sixes in T20 cricket. He hit 11 sixes during the T20 World Cup and 21 sixes in the IPL that year. Gayle played 47 innings, scoring 1,304 runs with an average of 30.32, and added 93 fours to his tally, making a total of 205 boundaries.
2. Chris Gayle (2011) – 116 Sixes
Chris Gayle
In 2011, Gayle hit 116 sixes across 31 T20 innings. He didn’t play in T20 Internationals but scored 1,497 runs in league cricket with a batting average of 57.57. His 44 sixes for RCB in the IPL were notable, and he topped the T20 run-scoring charts that year.
3. Chris Gayle (2012) – 121 Sixes
Chris Gayle
A year after his 116 sixes, Gayle hit 121 sixes in 2012. He hit 25 sixes in T20 Internationals, including 16 in the T20 World Cup. In the IPL, he hit a record 59 sixes in 14 innings. Overall, he scored 1,532 runs with a strike rate of 151.68.
In 2015, Gayle hit 135 sixes, including 15 in T20 Internationals and 38 in the IPL. He also played for Somerset and Jamaica Tallawahs. He scored 1,665 runs from 36 innings at an average of 59.46 and a strike rate of 164.52.
5. Nicholas Pooran (2024) – 139 Sixes
Nicholas Pooran
Nicholas Pooran set a new record in 2024 with 139 sixes in just eight months. Playing for eight teams, he hit 34 sixes for West Indies and 36 for LSG in the IPL. He scored 1,844 runs with a strike rate of 161.04. His record-setting performance included nine sixes in a single CPL match on August 31.
Here’s a look at five instances where a batter hit the most sixes in a single calendar year. Unsurprisingly, Chris Gayle dominates the list, appearing four times.
Year
Player
Matches
Sixes
Runs
Average
Strike Rate
Fours
Teams Played
2016
Chris Gayle
47
112
1,304
30.32
–
93
West Indies, Lahore Qalandars, Fortune Barishal, Jamaica Tallawahs